A software system is a system of intercommunicating components based on

software Software is a set of computer programs and associated software documentation, documentation and data (computing), data. This is in contrast to Computer hardware, hardware, from which the system is built and which actually performs the work. ...

forming part of a

computer system A computer is a machine that can be programmed to carry out sequences of arithmetic or logical operations ( computation) automatically. Modern digital electronic computers can perform generic sets of operations known as programs. These prog ...

(a combination of hardware and software). It "consists of a number of separate programs, configuration files, which are used to set up these programs, system documentation, which describes the structure of the system, and

user documentation Software documentation is written text or illustration that accompanies computer software or is embedded in the source code. The documentation either explains how the software operates or how to use it, and may mean different things to people in ...

, which explains how to use the system". The term "software system" should be distinguished from the terms "

computer program A computer program is a sequence or set of instructions in a programming language for a computer to execute. Computer programs are one component of software, which also includes documentation and other intangible components. A computer program ...

" and "

". The term computer program generally refers to a set of instructions (

source Source may refer to: Research * Historical document * Historical source * Source (intelligence) or sub source, typically a confidential provider of non open-source intelligence * Source (journalism), a person, publication, publishing institute o ...

, or

object code In computing, object code or object module is the product of a compiler In computing, a compiler is a computer program that translates computer code written in one programming language (the ''source'' language) into another language (the ...

) that perform a specific task. However, a software system generally refers to a more encompassing concept with many more components such as specification, test results, end-user documentation, maintenance records, etc.' The use of the term software system is at times related to the application of

systems theory Systems theory is the interdisciplinary study of systems, i.e. cohesive groups of interrelated, interdependent components that can be natural or human-made. Every system has causal boundaries, is influenced by its context, defined by its structu ...

approaches in the context of

software engineering Software engineering is a systematic engineering approach to software development. A software engineer is a person who applies the principles of software engineering to design, develop, maintain, test, and evaluate computer software. The term '' ...

. A software system consists of several separate computer programs and associated

configuration file In computing, configuration files (commonly known simply as config files) are files used to configure the parameters and initial settings for some computer programs. They are used for user applications, server processes and operating system ...

s, documentation, etc., that operate together. The concept is used in the study of large and complex software, because it focuses on the major ''components'' of software and their ''interactions''. It is also related to the field of

software architecture Software architecture is the fundamental structure of a software system and the discipline of creating such structures and systems. Each structure comprises software elements, relations among them, and properties of both elements and relations. ...

. Software systems are an active area of research for groups interested in

in particular and systems engineering in general. Academic journals like the ''

Journal of Systems and Software The ''Journal of Systems and Software'' is a computer science journal in the area of software systems, established in 1979 and published by Elsevier. Content and scope The journal publishes research papers, state-of-the-art surveys, and practi ...

'' (published by

Elsevier Elsevier () is a Dutch academic publishing company specializing in scientific, technical, and medical content. Its products include journals such as '' The Lancet'', ''Cell'', the ScienceDirect collection of electronic journals, '' Trends'', ...

) are dedicated to the subject. The ACM ''

Software System Award The ACM Software System Award is an annual award that honors people or an organization "for developing a software system that has had a lasting influence, reflected in contributions to concepts, in commercial acceptance, or both". It is awarded by ...

'' is an annual award that honors people or an organization ''"for developing a system that has had a lasting influence, reflected in contributions to concepts, in commercial acceptance, or both"''. It has been awarded by the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) since 1983, with a cash prize sponsored by IBM. The two types of are system software and application software PKCS#11 https://cve.mitre.org/cgi-bin/cvename.cgi?name=CVE-2022-3512

Categories Category, plural categories, may refer to: Philosophy and general uses Categorization, categories in cognitive science, information science and generally Category of being * ''Categories'' (Aristotle) Category (Kant) Categories (Peirce) * ...

Major categories of software systems include those based on

application software development Software development is the process of conceiving, specifying, designing, programming, documenting, testing, and bug fixing involved in creating and maintaining applications, frameworks, or other software components. Software development invo ...

programming software Program, programme, programmer, or programming may refer to: Business and management * Program management, the process of managing several related projects * Time management * Program, a part of planning Arts and entertainment Audio * Programm ...

, and

system software System software is software designed to provide a platform for other software. Examples of system software include operating systems (OS) like macOS, Linux, Android and Microsoft Windows, computational science software, game engines, search engin ...

although the distinction can sometimes be difficult. Examples of software systems include

operating system An operating system (OS) is system software that manages computer hardware, software resources, and provides common services for computer programs. Time-sharing operating systems schedule tasks for efficient use of the system and may also i ...

computer reservations system Computer reservation systems, or central reservation systems (CRS), are computerized systems used to store and retrieve information and conduct transactions related to air travel, hotels, car rental, or other activities. Originally designed and ope ...

air traffic control Air traffic control (ATC) is a service provided by ground-based air traffic controllers who direct aircraft on the ground and through a given section of controlled airspace, and can provide advisory services to aircraft in non-controlled airs ...

systems, military command and control systems,

telecommunication network A telecommunications network is a group of nodes interconnected by telecommunications links that are used to exchange messages between the nodes. The links may use a variety of technologies based on the methodologies of circuit switching, mess ...

s, content management systems, database management systems, expert systems,

embedded system An embedded system is a computer system—a combination of a computer processor, computer memory, and input/output peripheral devices—that has a dedicated function within a larger mechanical or electronic system. It is ''embedded'' ...

s, etc.

References

{{Authority control Systems engineering Software engineering terminology

Categories Category, plural categories, may refer to: Philosophy and general uses *Categorization, categories in cognitive science, information science and generally *Category of being * ''Categories'' (Aristotle) *Category (Kant) * Categories (Peirce) * ...

See also

References

Categories Category, plural categories, may refer to: Philosophy and general uses Categorization, categories in cognitive science, information science and generally Category of being * ''Categories'' (Aristotle) Category (Kant) Categories (Peirce) * ...